


Reboot

by Cephy



Category: Tron: Legacy (2010)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Fix-It, Healing, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-24
Updated: 2011-06-24
Packaged: 2017-10-20 16:59:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/214996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cephy/pseuds/Cephy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if the ending of Legacy had gone just a little bit differently?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reboot

He goes through with it before he can stop himself: he jerks his light jet to the side, making it collide with Clu's, and then he's falling as the damaged jets de-rez around them. Automatic emergency protocols put him spread-eagle to slow his fall until he can orient himself and reach for his backup.

Always carry a backup; always be prepared. He isn't sure when or how he learned that, beyond a vague thought that there had been a time he _hadn't_. That there had been a time he failed.

It's instinct that makes him twist his head to look up, just seconds before Clu would have collided with him in a reverse-echo of their earlier crash. For a breathless moment his programming holds him paralyzed, holds him still and waiting until Clu's hand is nearly at his belt. Almost too late. But from somewhere he finds the ability to move, to struggle, to keep Clu from getting the upper hand while the wind of their passing roars around them.

In the end Rinzler manages to shove free. He activates his backup and leaves Clu to continue falling alone.

He's lost the trail of the jet they had been chasing, but it hardly matters; its destination was obvious from the start. He flies on, the Portal looming larger and larger before him, and fixes his eyes on the three small shapes just coming into view on the walkway.

When he's close enough he simply deactivates his jet and drops. He lands in a crouch at Flynn's feet.

 _I fight for the User._

Was it Flynn's influence, some side-effect of his proximity that had let Rinzler break programming? Even in the early days, Flynn's connection with the Grid and its inhabitants defied comprehension; if anyone could override Clu's commands and give Rinzler back some measure of clarity--

A clarity that's hard to hang on to as those very commands press in on him with renewed vigour; _obey Clu capture Flynn obey Clu obey obey obey_. When Flynn steps forward calling a name softly-- a name that is _not allowed_ , one that can't be his but which just might be-- he steps away with a warning growl, raising a hand.

"Flynn," he manages to croak. He sees the other two-- the User boy and the ISO girl, both wisely keeping their distance-- startle at the sound. Flynn himself is still coming closer. "No," he tries. "Cor-- corrupted." _OBEY OBEY OBEY_ goes surging through him; his hand clenches, twitches towards his disk though he doesn't tell it to. He shouldn't have come here. Should have let himself fall, instead; it would have been safer.

"I know," Flynn says, low and soothing. "I know, and I am so sorry. I should never have let this happen."

Flynn is just steps away from him. Commands come scrolling through in rapid succession, telling him to reach out, grab Flynn, stop him confine him punish him. It takes every bit of Rinzler's degrading control not to follow those commands. He's focusing on that so hard that he doesn't fully realize Flynn's purpose until Flynn is right up beside him.

He only distantly feels a touch at his back, a click and pull as his disk is removed. He does hear Flynn's voice clearly, though, as Flynn whispers to himself. "Please, let me be able to fix this."

He wonders, faintly, who it is that Users pray to.

 _You know, man, we're not that much different from you_ , a distant memory answers him.

He doesn't know how long it is before that touch comes back. He flinches away automatically, tensing in anticipation of what comes next. Clu had been relentless in his reprogramming, layering on command after command, over and over until he was satisfied. Like a de-resolution that never ended, while everything he had been before was eaten away or copied over or repurposed. He had fought it, he remembers that much, though it gained him nothing in the end.

This time it doesn't hurt. This time, the click of his disk locking in is accompanied by a cool wash of relief as Flynn's code moves in to repair the damage Clu left behind. Rinzler closes his eyes and tries to breathe, keeps himself still as he lets it happen.

When he opens his eyes again, it is to lift a hand and see it shining blue.

One of Flynn's hands brushes the side of his helmet but he turns his head away, out of reach. He doesn't know what scars his fight against Clu's rectification would have gained him, and for some reason he doesn't want to find out just yet. Not while Flynn watches with so much guilt in his eyes.

Given time, even those small, superficial damages can no doubt be repaired, but _time_ is something they have little of just now. He can live with those scars a while longer; Flynn has taken care of the most important things, has silenced the driving command voice and given back his control of himself for the first time in cycles. His memories, the ones from before Clu, are starting to trickle back to him.

He looks in wonder at Sam, whom Flynn had talked about so often. Looks at Flynn, older now in the way that Users apparently become, and wonders just how long it has been.

Tron straightens his shoulders and looks back out over the Sea. "Clu will not give up," he says, pleased at how easily the words come to him.

"No," Flynn says, distracted, following Tron's gaze, "he won't. He's still coming. So long as I'm here--"

"Easy enough to fix," Sam says. "Come on, let's go already."

Flynn hesitates, and Sam's eyebrows draw down in a fierce scowl. "Dad--"

"Sam," Flynn cuts in, "think about it for a second. If I go back with you, come back from the dead, there'll be investigations, all sorts of legal procedures, questions we can't really answer-- and come on, man. I've been away for how long? I don't know how to live in your world anymore."

"You can learn," Sam starts desperately, but Flynn is shaking his head.

"I have a responsibility here. I think-- I think I need to stay and fix things." He reaches out to Sam's stricken expression and puts both hands on his shoulders. "You know where I am now. You can come and visit any time. I want you to."

"Like hell I'm going to just leave you here--"

"Right now I need you on the outside, kiddo," Flynn says firmly. "Give me one last chance to try and reason with Clu. If he agrees, we'll reintegrate, and that'll go a long way towards making things right here. If he fights me, though-- I'll need you on the outside to help force him into it."

"No," Sam argues, stubborn as his father. "Come with me, we'll hit a key and erase him that way. You don't need to do this, dad."

Flynn shakes his head. "Honestly? I think I made Clu a little too well. He's-- an idea. A drive. And those are very, very hard to erase without leaving echoes behind. I need to put him back where he came from, undo it all right at the source. Or else I can never be sure he's really gone."

Quorra tugs on one of Sam's arms and says something too quiet to overhear. Sam just stands for another moment, breathing heavily, then clenches his jaw and steps in. "Promise me you won't do anything stupid," he says, driving one finger into Flynn's chest.

"Promise," Flynn replies. Tron remembers enough now to know he's-- what's the phrase? _Lying through his teeth_. Sam probably knows it too, but in the end he nods and turns away.

They watch while Sam and Quorra enter the Portal and vanish. Flynn keeps watching for a long time after that, while Tron turns his attention out to the Sea.

"Are you likely to survive the reintegration?" Tron asks quietly.

"If Clu's willing? Probably, yeah."

"What are the chances that he'll be willing?"

"Slim," Flynn says instantly. He's wearing an expression that Tron recognizes, the kind of smile he'd worn when they took on the MCP together. "Very slim. But not none. And Sam should be able to help from the outside, even if Clu fights us." He slants a sideways look to Tron. "I wouldn't just throw my life away after all of this, believe me. I've got a lot to live for, and a lot of lost time to make up."

"Then why even take the risk?"

"Because I betrayed Clu, too," Flynn says, sobering. "I set him trying to find something impossible. I can't blame him for failing. If I can convince him to come back and give it another try, together-- I owe him that much."

The part of him that is still Rinzler doesn't agree, wants to de-rez Clu the moment he's in sight and thus eliminate the threat. The part of him that is Tron is disturbingly in agreement, not sure that giving Clu another chance is a good idea. But the Tron part of him, at least, is willing to respect his friend's decision.

They settle at the edge of the platform to wait. Tron sighs as a little more of his code clicks back into sequence, Flynn's repair protocols still doing their work. The Portal glows with a faint, residual light, casting everything in shades of grey. They sit in silence, content to be so, until a figure in red pulls itself out of the Sea some distance away and starts in their direction.


End file.
